Pressure-Induced Dislocations and Their Influence on Ionic Transport in Li+-Conducting Argyrodites.

The influence of the microstructure on the ionic conductivity and cell performance is a topic of broad scientific interest in solid-state batteries. The current understanding is that interfacial decomposition reactions during cycling induce local strain at the interfaces between solid electrolytes and the anode/cathode, as well as within the electrode composites. Characterizing the effects of internal strain on ion transport is particularly important, given the significant local chemomechanical effects caused by volumetric changes of the active materials during cycling. Here, we show the effects of internal strain on the bulk ionic transport of the argyrodite Li6PS5Br. Internal strain is reproducibly induced by applying pressures with values up to 10 GPa. An internal permanent strain is observed in the material, indicating long-range strain fields typical for dislocations. With increasing dislocation densities, an increase in the lithium ionic conductivity can be observed that extends into improved ionic transport in solid-state battery electrode composites. This work shows the potential of strain engineering as an additional approach for tuning ion conductors without changing the composition of the material itself.

Pressure-Assisted Synthesis of Highly Crystalline 1T''-Lix MoS2.

Lix MoS2 is not only a lithium battery material, but is also an important precursor for the synthesis of MoS2 nanomaterials. Current syntheses of MoS2 , such as in n-butyllithium/LiBH4 or electrochemically, are not satisfying in terms of defined stoichiometry and crystallinity, so an accurate experimental crystal structure determination of this important and widely used material has been long awaited. A high-pressure/high-temperature synthesis yielded highly crystalline 1T''-Lix MoS2 (x=1, 1.333). 1T''-LiMoS2 crystallizes in the space group P 1 ‾ $\bar 1$ with a=6.2482(3) Å, b=6.6336(3) Å, c=6.7480(3) Å, α=119.321(2)°, ß=90.010(2)° and γ=90.077(2)°. The arrangement of Mo atoms within the b-c-plane confirmed a predicted Peierls distortion. A similar atom distribution pattern to that of Mo is also observed for the lithium atoms. Calculation of bond valence site energies gave an activation barrier of 1.244 eV for 2D lithium-ion migration. For x=1.333, a phase-pure synthesis was achieved.

Cornucopia of Structures in the Pseudobinary System (SnSe) xBi2Se3: A Crystal-Chemical Copycat.

Pseudobinary phases (SnSe) xBi2Se3 exhibit a very diverse structural chemistry characterized by different building blocks, all of which are cutouts of the NaCl type. For SnSe contents between x = 5 and x = 0.5, several new phases were discovered. Next to, for example, Sn4Bi2Se7 ( x = 4) in the NaCl structure type and SnBi4Se7 ( x = 0.5) in the layered defect GeSb2Te4 structure type, there are at least four compounds (0.8 ≤ x ≤ 3) with lillianite-like structures built up from distorted NaCl-type slabs (L4,4-type Sn2.22Bi2.52Se6, L4,5-type Sn9.52Bi10.96Se26, L4,7-type Sn11.49Bi12.39Se30, and L7,7-type Sn3.6Bi3.6Se9). For two of them (L4,7 and L7,7), the cation distributions were determined by resonant X-ray scattering, which also confirmed the presence of significant amounts of cation vacancies. Thermoelectric figures of merit ZT range from 0.04 for Sn4Bi2Se7 to 0.2 for layered SnBi4Se7; this is similar to that of the related compounds SnBi2Te4 or PbBi2Te4. Compounds of the lillianite series exhibit rather low thermal conductivities (∼0.75 W/mK for maximal ZT). More than other "sulfosalts", compounds in the pseudobinary system SnSe-Bi2Se3 adapt to changes in the cation-anion ratio by copying structure types of compounds containing lighter or heavier homologues of Sn, Bi, or Se and can incorporate significant amounts of vacancies. Thus, (SnSe) xBi2Se3 is a multipurpose model system with vast possibilities for substitutional and structural modification aiming at the optimization of thermoelectric or other properties.

The Effect of Scandium Ternary Intergrain Precipitates in Al-Containing High-Entropy Alloys.

We investigate the effect of alloying with scandium on microstructure, high-temperature phase stability, electron transport, and mechanical properties of the Al2CoCrFeNi, Al0.5CoCrCuFeNi, and AlCoCrCu0.5FeNi high-entropy alloys. Out of the three model alloys, Al2CoCrFeNi adopts a disordered CsCl structure type. Both of the six-component alloys contain a mixture of body-centered cubic (bcc) and face centered cubic (fcc) phases. The comparison between in situ high-temperature powder diffraction data and ex situ data from heat-treated samples highlights the presence of a reversible bcc to fcc transition. The precipitation of a MgZn2-type intermetallic phase along grain boundaries following scandium addition affects all systems differently, but especially enhances the properties of Al2CoCrFeNi. It causes grain refinement; hardness and electrical conductivity increases (up to 20% and 14% respectively) and affects the CsCl-type → fcc equilibrium by moving the transformation to sensibly higher temperatures. The maximum dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.014 is reached for Al2CoCrFeNi alloyed with 0.3 wt.% Sc at 650 °C.

Phase Transitions of Thermoelectric TAGS-85.

The alloys (GeTe)x(AgSbTe2)100-x, commonly known as TAGS-x, are among the best performing p-type thermoelectric materials for the composition range 80 ≤ x ≤ 90 and in the temperature range 200-500 °C. They adopt a rhombohedrally distorted rocksalt structure at room temperature and are reported to undergo a reversible phase transition to a cubic structure at ∼250 °C. However, we show that, for the optimal x = 85 composition (TAGS-85), both the structural and thermoelectric properties are highly sensitive to the initial synthesis method employed. Single-phase rhombohedral samples exhibit the best thermoelectric properties but can only be obtained after an annealing step at 600 °C during initial cooling from the melt. Under faster cooling conditions, the samples obtained are inhomogeneous, containing multiple rhombohedral phases with a range of lattice parameters and exhibiting inferior thermoelectric properties. We also find that when the room-temperature rhombohedral phase is heated, an intermediate trigonal structure containing ordered cation vacancy layers is formed at ∼200 °C, driven by the spontaneous precipitation of argyrodite-type Ag8GeTe6 which alters the stoichiometry of the TAGS-85 matrix. The rhombohedral and trigonal phases of TAGS-85 coexist up to 380 °C, above which a single cubic phase is obtained and the Ag8GeTe6 precipitates redissolve into the matrix. On subsequent cooling a mixture of rhombohedral, trigonal, and Ag8GeTe6 phases is again obtained. Initially single-phase samples exhibit thermoelectric power factors of up to 0.0035 W m-1 K-2 at 500 °C, a value that is maintained on subsequent thermal cycling and which represents the highest power factor yet reported for undoped TAGS-85. Therefore, control over the structural homogeneity of TAGS-85 as demonstrated here is essential in order to optimize the thermoelectric performance.

Copper Selenidophosphates Cu4P2Se6, Cu4P3Se4, Cu4P4Se3, and CuP2Se, Featuring Zero-, One-, and Two-Dimensional Anions.

Five new compounds in the Cu/P/Se phase diagram have been synthesized, and their crystal structures have been determined. The crystal structures of these compounds comprise four previously unreported zero-, one-, and two-dimensional selenidophosphate anions containing low-valent phosphorus. In addition to two new modifications of Cu4P2Se6 featuring the well-known hexaselenidohypodiphosphate(IV) ion, there are three copper selenidophosphates with low-valent P: Cu4P3Se4 contains two different new anions, (i) a monomeric (zero-dimensional) selenidophosphate anion [P2Se4](4-) and (ii) a one-dimensional selenidophosphate anion [Formula: see text], which is related to the well-known gray-Se-like [Formula: see text] Zintl anion. Cu4P4Se3 contains one-dimensional [Formula: see text] polyanions, whereas CuP2Se contains the 2D selenidophosphate [Formula: see text] polyanion. It consists of charge-neutral CuP2Se layers separated by a van der Waals gap which is very rare for a Zintl-type phase. Hence, besides black P, CuP2Se constitutes a new possible source of 2D oxidized phosphorus containing layers for intercalation or exfoliation experiments. Additionally, the electronic structures and some fundamental physical properties of the new compounds are reported. All compounds are semiconducting with indirect band gaps of the orders of around 1 eV. The phases reported here add to the structural diversity of chalcogenido phosphates. The structural variety of this family of compounds may translate into a variety of tunable physical properties.

The solid solution series (GeTe)x(LiSbTe2)2 (1 ≤ x ≤ 11) and the thermoelectric properties of (GeTe)11(LiSbTe2)2.

Exchanging one Ge(2+) with two Li(+) per formula unit in (GeTe)n(Sb2Te3) (n = 1, 2, 3, ...) eliminates cation vacancies, because it leads to an equal number of cations and anions. This substitution results in the solid solution (GeTe)x(LiSbTe2)2 (with x = n - 1, but n not necessarily an integer). For x < 6, these stable compounds crystallize in a rock-salt-type structure with random cation disorder. Neutron data show that a small fraction of Ge occupies tetrahedral voids for x = 2 and 3. For x > 6, (GeTe)x(LiSbTe2)2 forms a GeTe-type structure that shows a phase transition to a cubic high-temperature phase at ca. 280 °C. The thermoelectric properties of (GeTe)11(LiSbTe2)2 have been investigated and show that this compound is a promising thermoelectric material with a ZT value of 1.0 at 450 °C. The high ZT value of the thermodynamically stable compound is caused by a low phononic contribution to the thermal conductivity; probably, Li acts as a "pseudo-vacancy".

A cubic room temperature polymorph of thermoelectric TAGS-85.

The alloy (GeTe)85(AgSbTe2)15, commonly known as TAGS-85, is one of the best performing p-type thermoelectric materials in the temperature range 200-500 °C. In all reports thus far, TAGS-85 adopts a rhombohedral crystal structure at room temperature and undergoes a reversible transition to a cubic phase in the middle of the operating temperature range. Here, we report on a novel, metrically cubic polymorph of TAGS-85 that can be obtained at room temperature using a particular cooling protocol during initial synthesis. This polymorph transforms irreversibly on initial heating to a 21-layer trigonal structure containing ordered cation vacancy layers, driven by the spontaneous precipitation of argyrodite-type Ag8GeTe6. We show that the precipitation of Ag8GeTe6 is detrimental to the thermoelectric performance of TAGS-85 due to an increase in the vacancy concentration, which makes the samples more metallic in character and significantly reduces the Seebeck coefficient. The precipitation of Ag8GeTe6 can be suppressed by careful control of the synthesis conditions.

Efficient and stable CH3NH3PbI3-sensitized ZnO nanorod array solid-state solar cells.

We report for the first time the use of a perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) absorber in combination with ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) for solar cell applications. The perovskite material has a higher absorption coefficient than molecular dye sensitizers, gives better solar cell stability, and is therefore more suited as a sensitizer for ZnO NRAs. A solar cell efficiency of 5.0% was achieved under 1000 W m(-2) AM 1.5 G illumination for a solar cell with the structure: ZnO NRA/CH3NH3PbI3/spiro-MeOTAD/Ag. Moreover, the solar cell shows a good long-term stability. Using transient photocurrent and photovoltage measurements it was found that the electron transport time and lifetime vary with the ZnO nanorod length, a trend which is similar to that in dye-sensitized solar cells, DSCs, suggesting a similar charge transfer process in ZnO NRA/CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells as in conventional DSCs. Compared to CH3NH3PbI3/TiO2 solar cells, ZnO shows a lower performance due to more recombination losses.